Spain | Anger rises against overtourism

(Madrid) From the Balearic Islands to the Canaries via Barcelona and Málaga, movements hostile to overtourism are increasing in Spain, the world’s second-largest destination, pushing the authorities to act to reconcile the well-being of residents with a crucial economic sector.

“The Canaries can’t take it anymore”: under this slogan, a call to demonstrate on Saturday was launched in the islands of this archipelago located off the coast of northwest Africa, popular for its volcanic landscapes and its constant sunshine.

Objective: to obtain a halt to the construction of two hotel complexes on Tenerife, the main island of the archipelago, and better consideration of residents and the environment in the face of the considered uncontrolled growth of tourism.

“Our islands are a treasure that must be defended,” assures Canarias se agota (“The Canaries are running out”), the collective at the origin of this movement, some members of which began a hunger strike last week to put pressure on the authorities.

Last year, the Canaries received 16 million visitors, seven times more than its 2.2 million inhabitants. An extremely high figure in view of local “resources”, lamented, during a press briefing, the spokesperson for the collective, Victor Martin, denouncing a “suicide development”.

” Go home “

This anger is not isolated, several “anti-tourist” movements, widely relayed on social networks, having emerged in recent weeks elsewhere in the country.

In Málaga, a mecca for tourism floor and beach (sun and beach) in Andalusia, stickers with unwelcome slogans have appeared on the walls and doors of tourist accommodation (“Before here, it was my house”, “it stinks of tourists”, “go home”… ).

Same thing in Barcelona or the Balearic Islands, where activists have installed false signs at the entrance to certain beaches reporting, in English, the risk of “falling stones” or “dangerous jellyfish” stings, in order to scare people away. potential visitors.

Among the grievances put forward by residents are real estate pressure, the proliferation of tourist rentals having forced many residents to flee city centers, as well as noise and environmental pollution.

In Catalonia, which has been facing a historic drought for three years, the pressure exerted on water reserves by hotels on the Costa Brava is causing irritation, while the authorities have placed almost the entire region in a state of emergency. emergency at the beginning of February.

“There are tourist destinations that are at the limit of their capacity,” recently recognized José Luis Zoreda, vice-president of the employers’ organization Exceltur. “This is a problem that appears occasionally in high season and in certain parts of the country, but which is growing.”

12.8% of GDP

Already in the 2010s, residents mobilized against overtourism, mainly in Barcelona. But after the COVID-19 hiatus, exasperation appears to have escalated, as Spain welcomed a record 85.1 million foreign visitors last year.

Keen to avoid any congestion, several cities have taken the lead, such as San Sebastian, in the Basque Country, which decided at the end of March to limit tourist groups to 25 people in its city center after banning the use of loudspeaker during guided tours.

At the end of March, Seville announced that it could charge access to its famous Spanish Steps for non-residents. Barcelona has decided to remove a bus line popular with tourists from Google Maps in order to return it to residents.

For the authorities, however, these decisions are not easy to make. In Spain, tourism accounts for 12.8% of GDP and accounts for 12.6% of jobs: countless families therefore depend on this sector and would be unhappy about the country turning away from its welcoming tradition.

The consequences of overtourism on real estate imply “acting to limit the number of tourist apartments” but the government is also “aware of the importance of the tourism sector”, assured Sunday the Minister of Housing, Isabel Rodríguez, by defending a balanced approach in a daily interview El País.